Apprentice success at North East Ambulance Service

New recruits to the emergency service celebrate Apprenticeship Week following their successful career development, which has lead them to securing a permanent job.

North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) started its apprenticeship scheme in 2012. Since then, it has trained 79 apprentices.

Of those, 43 were trained in the Trust’s Patient Transport Service (PTS), taking patients to and from hospital appointments, seven have been business administration apprentices, based in various administrative back office roles in the Trust, three have worked in the IT department, three have been trained in the Contact Centre and one has worked with the stores and warehousing team.

The majority of the 41 went on to secure permanent roles within the Trust – with some in place before the end of their apprenticeships.

Andrew Lamb, Education Coordinator at NEAS says, “For an organisation like ours, we are always looking to recruit new staff and apprenticeships are a great place to start.

 “We offer a wide variety of apprenticeships at NEAS and have been recognised by Ofsted as doing a good job equipping our apprentices and staff for the future. Joining our service as an apprentice can open so many doors; it’s a fantastic way to start your career. Many of our Patient Transport Service  apprentices have gone on to be Emergency Care Assistants, Emergency Care Technicians or Student Paramedics.”

North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (NEAS) covers 3,200 square miles across the North East region.  It employs more than 2,500 staff and serves a population of 2.7 million people by handling all NHS 111 and 999 calls for the region, operating patient transport and ambulance response services, delivering training for communities and commercial audiences and providing medical support cover at events.

PTS apprentices gain NVQ Level 2 in Customer Service and are given the opportunity to gain their C1 qualification on their driving licence to enable them to work on the road.

Jamie Callender from Shiremoor joined NEAS in September 2016 as Patient Transport Service (PTS) Apprentice.

Jamie says, “I joined NEAS because this career path gives me great reward and pleasure by putting smiles on patient’s faces as I take them to and from appointments across the region. I love helping and building relationships with a variety of patients on a day to day basis.”

NEAS also provide apprentices for people looking to pursue a career within support operations. Business Administration apprentices can work in a wide variety of teams such as Risk, Human Resources and Occupational Health. NEAS also offer I.T apprenticeships the opportunity to gain a QCF level 2 in IT.

Jess Moore successfully completed a 12 month apprentice in Business and administration in September 2016.

Jess said: “I saw a 12 month apprenticeship in business and administration advertised with NEAS and knew straight away I wanted to work for the organisation. I was thrilled to be offered an apprenticeship within NEAS’s Fleet department.

”It’s a really varied role and involves everything from taxing vehicles to ensuring they are regularly maintained and safety compliant. Working for an organisation like NEAS which makes a positive difference to people’s lives every day makes me very proud.”

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